She hadn’t missed them too much. Teo was quickly becoming her best friend. Strike that—he was her best friend. If she had to pick one person to be stranded with on a deserted island, she would pick him. Not just because his kisses melted her down to her toes, but because he was easy to be around, easy to work with, easy to talk to. Plus, he was strong enough to break trees, and that was essential for making a shelter to survive tropicalhurricanes.
Still, it would be nice to have a girlfriend she could call on, and even though Teo and Elijah’s friendship was based around business, that didn’t mean she and Deja had to keep the sameparameters.
She checked her tight heather-pink jeans and gray lace babydoll top for any signs of Akoni’s lunch. She was clear, but wanted to make sure her hair was in place and apply a fresh coat of lipstick. “I just need to freshenup.”
“You wanna get fresh with me?” Teo pumped his eyebrows. “I’m not opposed to thatidea.”
Cedar laughed. “I know you’re not.” She pressed herself against him and kissed just below his ear. “Let’s rock this dinner meeting and then come back here for a fire on the beach—just you andme.”
“I’m all in on that plan.” Teo’s voice rumbled low andsexy.
“’Kay.” She kissed him again, enjoying the manly smell of his cologne. It was deep and kind of sweet—just likeTeo.
Cedar grabbed her purse and headed to the guest bathroom. She flipped her head over and shook out the big curls. She liked the blond hair around her face, but it was starting to grow out. She’d either have to have it redone soon or color the whole thingdark.
Tipping her head from side to side, she wondered what Teo would think of her with dark hair. “You’re losing it, girl,” she told her reflection. Her mom would have told her to go ahead and do whatever she wanted and not let a man dictate what she wanted for hair color or in life. That wasn’t the point of her musings. Teo wouldn’t like her more or less because of her hair color. He wasn’t that shallow. Neither was she. So why did she feel like she’d done something wrong by considering his reaction to a change in hair color? Tossing her cosmetics back into her purse, she adjusted her top and shoved away the weirdness she’dfelt.
As if summoned by her thoughts, her mom’s name and number lit up her phone. Cedar had it on silent for the interviews. Her heart rate picked up and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She answered, “Mom?”
“Hello, Cedar. I don’t have much time but I wanted you to know your father and I are selling the house and moving toArizona.”
Cedar leaned against the counter. The house in question was her childhood home, the one constant in her life growing up. She’d like to go back, pack up a few things, say goodbye to the place. It was unfair of her to expect her parents to keep the house just so she had a place she called home. “When?”
“Tomorrow.”
Cedar choked on her own spit. She coughed and wheezed and finally stuck her face under the faucet for a drink of water. “How can you move states without giving menotice?”
“I am giving younotice.”
“Twenty-four hours is not notice.” Cedar cleared the remained cough from herthroat.
Her momwaited.
“I have a lot of good memories of thathouse.”
“We all do, sweetheart, but it’s just a house and it’s getting old. We found a nice little place without a yard. No moreweeding!”
Cedar pressed her hand to her chest. “I’d just always pictured you two in that house.” The place they always returnedto.
“Don’t be selfish, Cedar. We’re going to be better off, and it’s not like you come home all thatoften.”
“What about theholidays?”
“Whoknows?”
Cedar could picture her mom flicking away her concerns with a flap of herwrist.
“We’ll figure it all out when the timecomes.”
“Sure.”Sure.
“Do you have news? Ajob?”
Cedar scraped her teeth across her bottom lip. She hadn’t told her parents about working as a nanny. They wouldn’t understand. “No, but I’ve metsomeone.”
“Sweetheart, you’ll find a job soon. Don’t let the job search bring you so low that you go looking for your confidence in the arms of a man. That never worksout.”
“I can’t believe you just said that to me. Do you even know me atall?”
